25 Year Old’s Van Dwelling Lifestyle

Video: Life on the Road in Converted Van

You can help us spread the word on this van dwelling story by “Liking” on Facebook using the button below and re-sharing this story using the e-mail and social media re-share buttons below. Every share helps, including yours. Thank you so much.

Alex

Alex is a contributor and editor for TinyHouseTalk.com and the always free Tiny House Newsletter. He has a passion for exploring and sharing tiny homes (from yurts and RVs to tiny cabins and cottages) and inspiring simple living stories. We invite you to send in your story and tiny home photos too so we can re-share and inspire others towards a simple life too. Thank you!

I lived away from home in a full sized, hi-top van while working away from home. The freedom of this lifestyle is positively addictive and infectious. You can stop anywhere and sleep, cook or chill out. Positively amazing. If I were not married I’d live this way full time.

Yes I understand your thinking. I rent rooms to educated men here on my Estate. IT men that would otherwise be stuck in an Extended Stay. I give them an option of staying in a beautiful Estate in Scottsdale Arizona. I am a Designer of Tiny Homes and have several choices on my Estate. I am creeper free and live wonderfully sharing my gorgeous large lavish Estate with others in Scottsdale. Only the educated well mannered guest it welcomed.
Harvard Girl,
Diane

Love it ! I’m planing on Buying a van shortly myself. I have a job I love but i’m not paid alot for it, and it got to the point all the bills were going up year after year, and My Pay rate has been the same for the past 4 years. It got to the point I couldnt afford rent any more, To make matter’s a bit more difficult, I was told I have cancer, was going to have to give the Flat anyway. Fast forward, Made it thru Chemo and Rad treatments. 🙂 So looking forward to getting on with Life. Keeping my job since I love it, (Security Officer ) Coverting a Van and not going to worry about paying for a flat that I have to work more to pay for the rising rents. 🙂 I wish You the Best of Luck I’m gonna sign up to follow you. I might even Blog so you can follow me too. 🙂 Cheers !!!

Wow. Congrats for beating cancer! That’s such an inspiring story, you should definitely start blogging at some point! Where about are you currently located? I’m asking, because I’m frequently looking for great people to feature on About Wings. At the moment only in Europe, but who knows…
If you are subscribed to my newsletter, you should have my email address and can always fetch me an email. I would really love to know how things progress for you.
Power to you!
Robin

Thank you for the lovely words! 😀
I’m glad to hear you liked the interview. You might want to consider checking out http://aboutwings.com
I’m documenting my journey with a video series there and give out advice and thoughts for others 🙂

Thank you for your kind words!
It’s very true. It can change you. So far, I’ve found my life diving into a so much better direction than before and even after five months of living in the van, I’m more happy about my choice of living in Hermes than I was ever before!

A truly beautiful young man who has his head on his shoulders, so refreshing. Many years ago I raised three babies in a larger size cargo van for four years till I got enough money to rent, I am 80 years old now and Live in a A huge van cargo style that I’ve been living in for five years and it is pure joy I designed it a lot different from yours but I can go anywhere and I write for the first time in my life I’m free to write. God bless you young man

Wow. And so many people say they can’t travel because they have family… You are the living example that it is possible to do it with children!
A very inspiring story! Thank you for sharing, Betty. And thank you for your lovely words! In case you wanna see more of my journey, feel free to hop over to http://aboutwings.com 🙂

Thank you for replying Robin although so many people think it’s not a good way to live once people get over the curiosity and I prove I am really 80 years old I see nothing but envy and that’s exactly what I wish that others could see, there’s more to life than eating sleeping working and paying bills. God bless you Robin have a great life . Before I forget time does not exist when your life is full and the way we live your day starts and you turn around and find you have to go to sleep and all you can remember is Joy.

I was living this lifestyle in my own AstroVan back in 1995. I even wrote an essay about a bit of my experience and it was published on a website called, Seven Seas Magazine. There were no organizations or clubs or YouTube sites or blogs to motivate and encourage me but the call of the wild still beckoned and I answered. I was in school full-time and working full-time so there wasn’t any point in having an apartment. I showered at college fitness locker rooms, gyms, beach shower stalls, hospitals, ate in cafeterias, restaurants, used gas station microwaves to warm canned food, and slept in libraries, hospitals, campus buildings when the weather was inhospitable. I can say without pause that it was the most exhilarating, resourceful lifestyle I lived, outside of my RV travels overseas. You have great courage, Robin!

This is a very inspiring story! It’s fascinating to me, that people tend to think you need a lot of money to travel and experience new things, when actually, the best experiences you ake when you’ve got to spend hardly any money!
Thank you for sharing 😀

I spend a lot of time traveling on the road and sleep in my camper mini van too. My mini van is much smaller than yours ,I usually go to the gym to take a shower. I also carried a popup portable shower and toilet. this is the video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-SIDdESTX3c ﻿

I have to say, I’m quite happy with the interiour I have at the moment. As much as I love Hammocks, they aren’t very helpful when you have to get through cold weather, since they let cold air through from below. Also, they are not very useful for two people…

Also, I really wanted it to be as homely and comfy as possible. And baskets/boxes didn’t really hit that nerve for me…

The van has changed a bit since we did the interview. And I still see how things evolve in there, due to the circumstances 🙂

Hang in there Robin, good effort.
I had to live in a van for a job away from home, but it turned out to be too cold in the winter. I had a Chevy Astro van and needed more clearance…
FOR THOSE LOOKING INTO VANS: If you need off road capability, like I did, Overland Vans offers lift kits for Astro and Safari vans, in both 2 and 4 wheel drive options. These are smaller than full size vans but very capable, and nice alternative. Neat pics over at overlandvans.com

Thanks for the tips and the lovely words!
I agree, Winter can be a pain, but I’ve managed to get through the worst of it by going South and taking some work-away volunteer jobs that provided me with a warm room at night. Now I’m back in the van.

Hello Robin, you have some really good wisdom. I spent my whole life trying to get ahead. But as you said in the video stuff get stolen, etc. It is a wake up call. My whole house was blow down in a hurricane back in 2004. This made me realize material things will come and go. But there are alternative ways of living. In the last stretch until I retire 15 years I am planning on being mobile. You have to move to a warmer place. I am in Florida makes it easy to take it on the road. Stay safe and good health. Lisa 🙂

I’m planning to do this starting August 1, and I’m very excited about it! The only thing that concerns me is where to put it when I sleep! Because I work, I have to stay around the Berkeley/East Bay area during the week. Any ideas? Anyone in this area have solutions?

Robin, I have a question for you, personally. I am at the tail end of my budget after losing my job, having had all of my valuables stolen from me, (and we all know the cliche; “You have to spend money to make money.”) Do you have any advice for someone in my circumstance?

The content and information here is for entertainment and should not be taken as professional advice. While we strive to provide accurate and helpful information, we are not professionals. The owner of this website disclaims all warranties expressed or implied regarding the accuracy, timeliness, and completeness of the information provided.

When considering buying/selling from this website or any 3rd party websites linked always be sure to deal with people locally to avoid scams. Do not wire money in any way without first seeing the home (or other product), checking title, and doing your proper due diligence.

We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites.